The Pizza Chef: Pricing your pizza properly - Canadian Pizza Magazine (2024)

It was great to see so many fellow Canadians at the Pizza Expo in Las
Vegas. Many of you said that you took my advice and made it to the show
and as promised, were not disappointed.

It was great to see so many fellow Canadians at the Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Many of you said that you took my advice and made it to the show and as promised, were not disappointed. And thank-you to all who came and introduced themselves to me and expressed their enjoyment of my columns, it is nice to be appreciated.

A common recurring question I got was: “How much should a large pepperoni pizza cost?” And when I asked what was the current selling price of your large pepperoni pizza, the answers I got were as vast as the landscape of our beautiful country. Almost all were grossly under-priced.

First of all, let me tell you that most of you need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. This may sound harsh, but we need to start from scratch. In order to approach this subject fairly, we need to dump all of our preconceived notions about pizza prices, because they are, in fact, badly tainted.

The other question I asked was: “How did you come to decide on the price you set?” This stumped some of you and the answers I got ranged from “the guy or the chain pizza place down the street has his $1 higher” to “well, I thought that 10 bucks was a good price.”

Next, my question is what is your food cost for that large pepperoni pizza? I asked this question to get a feel for the quality of the ingredients that you are sourcing. Some of you didn’t know the answer and for those, I gave you homework in order for you to have a starting point.

Yes, I know how boring and tedious figuring out the food cost can be, but it is a necessary evil in our business. If we don’t have an idea, how do we know if we are running a profitable business or a non-recognized charity?

I have been in this business for over 17 years and I’ve not only poured tens of thousands of dollars down the drain from naiveté and inexperience, but in the last five years I’ve consulted for many operators and seen them repeat my mistakes. It’s a lot more common than you may think – people pouring retirement money into their business, moms or dads stroking cheques for thousands of dollars every couple of months to keep their son’s pizza business afloat.

Unfortunately, unless you know your math, and fix the bad math, you will repeat the same mistakes and lose all that money too.

Where’s the profit? Where’s the payoff? In the words of Jerry Maguire: “Show me the money!”

Let’s break down that large pizza and show you the money.

To figure out your food cost you must know how much of each ingredient you use per pizza. If you make the dough in your store, then you need to know how many large dough balls you can make per batch of dough. For instance, in my pizzeria a 20 kg batch will yield 54 large 21-ounce dough balls. This means that the total yield of a batch of dough is 1,134 ounces.

Add up the total cost of the batch of dough. For example the flour, yeast, oil, salt, and sugar equal $36. Next divide the total number of ounces from a full batch of dough into the cost of the batch (i.e.: $36/1134 = .03 cents per ounce of dough ball).

Finally, multiply the cost per ounce by the dough ball weight, for example in my pizzeria a large dough ball is 21 ounces; so 21 x .03 cents per ounce makes my cost .63 cents per large dough ball.

For those of you who buy “ready to use” dough and shells this is a much simpler math, just take the cost from your supplier invoice to figure out how much each ball costs.

Next you do the same for your sauce. As an average, most large pizzas have 5-6 ounces of sauce. Repeat the process with cheese, then the pepperoni.

Are you asleep yet? Don’t fade out now; we’re almost done.

Add up all the numbers from above and you now have your food cost for your large pepperoni pizza. Take your food cost and divide the menu price of your large pepperoni pizza into that (i.e.: $3.50/ $9.99 = .350). Now multiply that by 100 for your food cost percentage, which equals 35 per cent.

Okay, those of you who are you still with me are probably saying great, so what does this tell me? I’ll tell you what it tells you: 35 per cent food cost is way too high to make any money in this business. And if you have a special where you discount that large pizza to $6.99 on certain days or with a coupon, then you need to plug that number in to the equation.

The fact is that some of you may be running 50 per cent or higher food cost.

When you factor in your labour costs (and you shouldn’t be working for free, nor should your spouse’s income be supporting the business – but that’s another column), your rent, your utilities and everything else, your food and labour costs combined should be no more than 50-55 per cent.

That means that your food cost needs to be below 30 per cent, ideally in the 20-25 per cent range so that you can offer a couple of coupons (not 2 for 1) and still cover all your costs and even bring home the bacon.

Before you go poking your eyes out with the pizza fork, realize that now that you have your figure, you can plug the retail price back into that equation to see what a large pepperoni pizza should cost.


Diana Coutu is a two-time Canadian Pizza Magazine chef of the year champion, internationally recognized gourmet pizzaiolo and co-owner of Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria in Winnipeg, Man. In addition to creating award-winning recipes, Diana is also a consultant to other independent pizzeria owner/operators in menu development, creating systems to run a pizzeria on autopilot, along with marketing and positioning to help operators grow their business effectively and strategically. She is available for consulting on a limited basis, for more information contact her at Diana@dianasgourmetpizzeria.ca .

The Pizza Chef: Pricing your pizza properly - Canadian Pizza Magazine (2024)

FAQs

What is the markup on pizza? ›

A meat-loaded pizza only costs $1.90 to make, and generally sells for $14. That's a 636% markup. A plain margherita pizza, at a cost of $1.77, retails for $12 — a 580% markup. A big contributor to these huge markups is the incredibly low cost of making the crusts.

How to do pizza costing? ›

Begin by weighing your ingredients as you make your pizza and recording the number of ounces you use for each ingredient (dough, sauce, cheese, meat and veggie toppings). Now, take the number of ounces for each ingredient and multiply that by the ingredient's respective cost per ounce.

What is the profit margin on pizza? ›

Many factors can affect the profitability of a pizza business. The most common percentage is 15% and it's not uncommon to see lower percentages, but sometimes high-profit margins could be as much as 20-25%. To achieve such high levels in profits requires mastery of your foodservice industry and good management skills.

How much is a slice of pizza? ›

According to Quigley, the average price of a plain slice in the city jumped 19% in that span, from $2.52 in 2014 to $3.00 in 2022. Pepperoni lovers have it worse, with the average cost of those slices spiking 37.5%, from $3.33 in 2014 to $4.58 in 2022. The most expensive pepperoni slice he found? $6.53.

What is the standard markup for food? ›

Average Markup of Food for Restaurants. The food industry abides by a cost-to-menu price standard, which is 28% to 32%. This means that for any given menu item the restaurant should charge at least double.

What is normal markup on food? ›

Markup. Markups and food cost percentages are two sides of the same coin. While target food cost percentages generally fall between 20-40%, markups are usually around 300%.

What is the formula for pizza? ›

A pizza is approximately the shape of a cylinder, so to get its volume, we have to multiply its area by its height. Thus the volume V of a pizza with height a is given by V=a⋅ A = pi ⋅ z ⋅ z ⋅ a! That's it.

What is the average price of a pizza? ›

While the average cost of a pie nationally is $17.81—here's how much a pizza costs in every state. Check out if your state is above or below the average.

How many people does a 20 inch pizza fees? ›

Generally, a 20-inch pizza should feed around 6 to 8 people, with 4 people getting 3 slices each and 6 people getting 2 slices each. Some popular brands such as Domino's and Papa John's offer larger slices than other brands, so it really depends on what type of pizza you are looking for.

Do pizza owners make money? ›

Average PIZZA RESTAURANT Restaurant Owner yearly pay in the United States is approximately $60,000, which meets the national average.

What food has the highest profit margin? ›

Profitable Food Business Ideas
  • Honey production – 30% average profit margin.
  • Coffee shop – 25% average profit margin.
  • Popcorn business – 22% average profit margin.
  • Custom cakes – 19% average profit margin.
  • Chicken poultry -17% average profit margin.
  • Pizza – 15% average profit margin.
  • Fruit juice – 14% average profit margin.

What pizza place makes the most money? ›

Largest Pizza Chains Research Summary

The largest Pizza chain in the U.S. is Domino's Pizza Inc. with a revenue of $4.53 billion in 2022.

How many slices of pizza is a good amount? ›

Three slices per adult and two slices per child offer a good base to start from when you're estimating how many pizzas to order. If you know in advance that you have guests with major pizza appetites, allow for one or two more slices per person, just to be safe.

How much pizza do I need for 30 people? ›

As a general rule of thumb, you can estimate that each person will eat 2-3 slices of pizza. So for 30 people, you'll need approximately 60-90 slices of pizza. To calculate the number of pizzas needed, you'll also need to consider the size of the pizza. For a small pizza, you can generally expect 6-8 slices per pizza.

How many pizzas do I need to feed 40 people? ›

Tips For Planning The Perfect Pizza Party for 40 People

Generally speaking, 6 full-sized pizzas should be enough if you plan on allowing 2-3 slices per person. If you're serving smaller pizzas, then 8-9 should suffice.

What is a reasonable markup price? ›

What is a Good Markup Percentage? While there is no set “ideal” markup percentage, most businesses set a 50 percent markup. Otherwise known as “keystone”, a 50 percent markup means you are charging a price that's 50% higher than the cost of the good or service.

What food has the highest markup? ›

Markup: Spices that come from well-known brands can be very expensive. In fact, the markup on spices is a shocking 100%, making it one of the highest markups on any grocery item. The average customer spends more money on packaging, but there is an easy way to cut costs that can save a lot of money.

What is the formula for markup? ›

Markup percentage is calculated by dividing the gross profit of a unit (its sales price minus its cost to make or purchase for resale) by the cost of that unit. If an item is priced at $12 but costs the company $8 to make, the markup percentage is 50%, calculated as (12 – 8) / 8.

What is the simple markup method? ›

The simple markup method is a collection of different approaches to calculating an item price using the ingredient, prime ingredient, and markup with accompaniment methods. Each of these methods has varying degrees of complexity. The one that results in the best profit margin will vary from menu to menu.

How do you calculate food cost? ›

Food cost percentage formula

To calculate your food cost percentage, first add the value of your beginning inventory and your purchases, and subtract the value of your ending inventory from the total. Finally, divide the result into your total food sales.

What profit should you make on food? ›

The formula for gross profit margin is revenue (total food sales) - the cost of goods sold (total food cost) / revenue (total food sales). The sweet spot for gross profit margins is around 70% for many restaurants. In other words, you want the restaurant to keep 70 cents of every dollar earned.

What are the 4 main components of a pizza? ›

There are four main components of a basic pizza pie: crust, sauce, cheese, and toppings.

How much does it cost to make a 10 inch pizza? ›

— The average price per square inch for a 10-inch pizza was $0.16 versus $0.096 for a 16-inch pizza.

What is the average cost of a 14 inch pizza? ›

On average, 2-3 slices of a 14-inch pizza costs about $5. But that same serving size from a 10-inch pizza costs about $8. Papa John's was the most expensive, compared to its pizza peers, but it had the steepest drop from their smallest pie to their largest.

Why are pizzas so expensive now? ›

"Pizzerias have a very thin profit margin -- these are mom-and-pop shops, with, like five or 10 part-time employees," Morash said. "They can't afford to eat the cost, so it gets passed on." Overall, inflation on food items is up 10.4%, according to December's Consumer Price Index, the most recent report available.

Is it cheaper to make pizza at home? ›

On the other hand, making a pizza at home will be less than a third of that price. Plus, you know exactly what quality ingredients have gone in your pizzas. You can run these numbers any way you like, but the bottom line is making pizza at home is conservatively going to save you thousands of dollars.

How much do you tip for a 20 dollar pizza? ›

How much to tip the pizza delivery driver. Generally speaking, delivery orders that are less than $20 are given a minimum tip of $3. If the order is over $20, then it's customary to calculate a tip that is 10%-15% of the order (but never less than $5).

How much pizza do I need for 50 people? ›

However, as a general rule of thumb, you can estimate that 6-8 large pizzas will feed 50 people. Assuming each large pizza has 8 slices, this means that you would need to order approximately 48-64 slices of pizza to feed 50 people.

How much pizza do I need for 100 guests? ›

Calculate How Much Pizza You'll Need

Once you have your attendance estimate, multiply the number of attendees by 3/8 to determine how many pizzas you should order. Thus, for 100 attendees you would order 38 pies (100 x 3/8 = 37.5).

How many pizzas can be made in an hour? ›

An Overview of How Many Pizzas You Could Cook per Hour
PIZZA SIZE12 INCH16 INCH
COOKING TIME4 min4 min
HR-70-22180120
HR-70-33300240
HR-93-33330270
Feb 6, 2020

What pizza chain makes the most money and how much? ›

With sales worth approximately 8.64 billion U.S. dollars, Domino's Pizza was the leading pizza restaurant chain in the United States in 2021. Pizza Hut and Little Caesars were ranked second and third, respectively.

Do pizza shops make a lot of money? ›

A moderately successful pizza restaurant should expect to make a 15% profit, which is very strong in comparison with other restaurants.

What is the most profitable item in fast food? ›

Here are a few recommendations for profitable fast-food items for your restaurant.
  • Specifying Meals. Provide customers with the specific meals for the time of their order. ...
  • Hot and Cold Beverages. ...
  • Soups and Stews. ...
  • Pizzas. ...
  • Special Kids Menu. ...
  • Nose-to-Tail Items. ...
  • Providing Add-ons and Side Options. ...
  • Using Deals and Offers.
Feb 16, 2021

What is the most profitable food truck item? ›

Most Profitable Item #1: Barbecue. The most profitable food truck dishes strike the perfect balance between cost, labor, and sales. Nothing embodies that balance more than barbecue. Not only is it easy to toss some choice meats and veggies on the fire, but it's also quick and cheaper than other options.

What are the richest foods to eat? ›

Foods that naturally are nutrient-rich include fruits and vegetables. Lean meats, fish, whole grains, dairy, legumes, nuts, and seeds also are high in nutrients.

What day sells the most pizza? ›

It seems that no other food is paired better with scary movies than the classic pizza. After Halloween, Superbowl Sunday comes in at a close second. Other popular pizza days include New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and the day before Thanksgiving.

What is the most popular pizza in USA? ›

1. Pepperoni. This may not come as a surprise, but pepperoni is by far the most popular pizza topping in the United States. It's added to 36% of all pies, and Americans consume more than 250 MILLION pounds of pepperoni annually.

How often should you eat pizza? ›

While it's okay to eat a piece of frozen, fast-food or pizzeria-style pizza occasionally, it's best to limit consumption to no more than a few times per month.

Is 10 slices of pizza too much? ›

If each slice is 4.396 inches wide, then there would be 43.96/4.396, or 10 slices in a large pizza. Of course, this is just an estimate, as pizza sizes and slice sizes can vary depending on the pizzeria. But if you're looking for a general idea of how many slices are in a large pizza, 10 is a good number to go with.

Is it OK to eat 2 slices of pizza everyday? ›

One slice of store-bought pizza can have approximately 20% of the daily recommended amount of saturated fat. Eating numerous slices regularly can push your saturated fat intake way over the recommended limit. Over time, this can lead to a higher risk for high disease.

How many Costco pizzas do I need for 60 people? ›

How many Costco pizzas for 60 people? For parties of 60 people, it's recommended to purchase 10 large costco pizzas. If you're including some snacks or side dishes in the meal, 9 pizzas should be enough for your guests.

How many pizzas do I need to buy to feed 20 people? ›

For 20 adults you should order 8 large pizzas.

This way, each person can enjoy two to three slices of pizza, making for a satisfying and delicious meal that won't leave anyone feeling hungry.

How many slices of pizza should I order per person? ›

How Many Slices of Pizza per Person? Account for about three slices of pizza per person. Use this as a general guideline, and be aware that some people may consume more or less. If you're ordering pizza for a hungry football team, you might want to order more pizzas than you normally would.

What is the 3 8 pizza rule? ›

The 3/8 pizza rule assigns an average number of slices per person, assuming that on average each person will eat three out of the eight slices in any given pie, with a generous cushion for wiggle room.

How many Costco pizzas do I need for 40 adults? ›

Generally speaking, it is recommended that two slices per person are allowed- so for 40 people, a minimum of 20 pizzas should be ordered. Ordering an extra pie or two will also provide leftovers and guarantee that everyone is satisfied with the meal!

How many pizzas do I need for 18 adults? ›

Example: 20 guests X 3 slices each = 60 slices of pizza. Divide 60 slices into 18 and you get 7.5, so you should order 8 pizzas. Slices can vary between pizzerias and restaurants so it's always wise to contact the establishment.

How do you calculate markup on food? ›

What's a Markup? To calculate markup for your menu items, you'll figure out the ratio of gross profit to gross sales. For example, if you have an item on your menu that costs $4 to make, but you sell it for $8, you have a 50% markup for that food item.

What is Domino's pizza gross profit margin? ›

Historical Gross Profit Margin (Quarterly) Data
DateValue
December 31, 202236.77%
September 30, 202235.73%
June 30, 202236.26%
March 31, 202236.46%
21 more rows

How much profit does a Dominos pizza make? ›

As per our analysis, the average net profit margin for a Domino's franchise is around 8% of revenues (12% EBITDA margin).

Why is pizza so expensive? ›

"Pizzerias have a very thin profit margin -- these are mom-and-pop shops, with, like five or 10 part-time employees," Morash said. "They can't afford to eat the cost, so it gets passed on." Overall, inflation on food items is up 10.4%, according to December's Consumer Price Index, the most recent report available.

How do I figure out markup on price? ›

Markup percentage is calculated by dividing the gross profit of a unit (its sales price minus its cost to make or purchase for resale) by the cost of that unit. If an item is priced at $12 but costs the company $8 to make, the markup percentage is 50%, calculated as (12 – 8) / 8.

What is the standard markup formula? ›

Simply take the sales price minus the unit cost, and divide that number by the unit cost. Then, multiply by 100 to determine the markup percentage. For example, if your product costs $50 to make and the selling price is $75, then the markup percentage would be 50%: ( $75 – $50) / $50 = .50 x 100 = 50%.

What pizza franchise makes the most money? ›

The largest Pizza chain in the U.S. is Domino's Pizza Inc. with a revenue of $4.53 billion in 2022.

What is Papa John's gross profit margin? ›

Papa John's net profit margin as of March 31, 2023 is 3.82%.

What is Papa John's gross margin? ›

Analysis. Papa John's International's gross profit margin for fiscal years ending December 2018 to 2022 averaged 29.4%. Papa John's International's operated at median gross profit margin of 29.9% from fiscal years ending December 2018 to 2022.

How much is a Chick Fil A franchise? ›

While operating a Chick-fil-A restaurant requires a relatively modest $10,000 initial financial commitment ($15,000 CAD in Canada), it requires a holistic commitment to own and operate the business in a hands-on manner.

Is a pizza business a good investment? ›

Pizza shops can be a great investment for those looking to enter the food industry. The start-up costs are relatively low, and there is a large potential customer base. Pizza shops also have the potential to generate a good amount of repeat business. However, there are some risks associated with opening a pizza shop.

How much does Papa John's franchise cost? ›

The estimated initial investment required to open a standard Papa John's pizza franchise is $130,120 to $844,420, including a franchise fee of $25,000. The estimated cost to open a non-standard Papa John's franchise ranges from $26,500 to $388,920, including a franchise fee of $5,000.

How much was a pizza in 1970? ›

In 1960, the fare was 15 cents. That was what a slice of pizza cost, too. By the early 70's, the fare had risen to 35 cents. So had pizza.

What is the most expensive ingredient in pizza? ›

Just an FYI: cheese is the most expensive ingredient in/on a pizza, so this makes perfect sense. Reason: think of all the gallons of milk and processing it takes to make an unit of cheese.

Is it cheaper to buy a pizza or make one? ›

On the other hand, making a pizza at home will be less than a third of that price. Plus, you know exactly what quality ingredients have gone in your pizzas. You can run these numbers any way you like, but the bottom line is making pizza at home is conservatively going to save you thousands of dollars.

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